Jiaxuan (Jessie) Peng
CoShadow
How might we help young designers to have healthier and happier remote work/break experiences?
With the rapid growth of emerging technologies, many people spend their break time using digital devices. With the further global trend of remote working brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, workers spend even more time on screens, which negatively affects both their physical and mental health. My Industrial Design thesis project aims to help young designers who work remotely to have attractive, convenient, and undisturbed breaks away from their screens and motivate them to be active regularly during this time. The design includes three elements, which are the remote work and break experience, the App interface, and the projection interface.
Insight
I learned so much from working on this project, especially with regards to how important it is to step back during the design process and constantly ask for feedback from the end-users. In my design process, I was sometimes too focused on designing for the little details within the concept, but overlooked the larger scope; however, constantly checking with my users and other students in my class helped me greatly and kept me moving in the right direction.
Idea
This project aims to provide employees with a healthier and happier remote work and break experience. In this challenging time, CoShadow aims to support employees’ mental and physical health by helping them to set a regular remote working routine, while encouraging them to socialize and stretch during their break time. This service also benefits the organization by supporting them with healthier and happier employees, improved work efficiency, and a more united atmosphere.
Impact
Remote working is one of the biggest trends activated by the pandemic. We isolate ourselves from our colleagues and spend most of our work and break time on screens. We experience loneliness and physical ailments such as sore eyes, neck pain and headaches as an inevitable result. Fortunately, we have CoShadow! This product will improve the health and happiness of our remote working experiences, while keeping us more unified.
Biography
Jiaxuan is an Industrial and User Experience Designer with a Chinese background. She prefers others to call her Jessie since it is easier to pronounce. Growing up in the East and studying abroad for years has made her an open-minded and self-challenging person. Jessie is passionate about human-centred designs and particularly human interactions and experience. She embraces technology and values sustainability, with a great interest in applying her design to real-world challenges. She believes that we as designers should be optimistic about the current situation since this challenging time will create more opportunities for us. Upon graduation, Jessie plans to continue her study as a graduate student while trying different internships to expand her horizons.